This invention relates to photoflood lights, i.e. to lights used for artificial illumination in the context of photography.
A light of the type in question is commercially available in the Federal Republic of Germany from Dr. Ing. Boehme & Co., as "Type 1000 K". This light has a housing composed of a relatively flat first section which merges into a second section having a height approximately three times that of the corresponding dimension of the first section. A U-shaped bracket is pivoted to the end faces of the flat first section and has arms of a length which is shorter than the spacing between the pivot axis of the bracket and the housing surface where the light source (lamp) is located. This means that after bracket and housing have been pivoted relative to one another through a certain angle, the higher second housing section will abut the bracket. The first section accommodates electrical components, such as switches, fuses and the like; the second section, being larger, accommodates the reflector, the elongated lamp and the socket for the lamp, among others. Two light baffles are pivoted to the reflector, so as to be pivotable about axes extending parallel to the lamp axis and above the same. When the light is not in use, the baffles are pivoted down over the reflector so as to cover the same and, in effect, form a front wall of the housing. These baffles are not a part of the reflector, but serve only as auxiliary light-directing devices.
A problem with this otherwise very satisfactory prior-art device is that it is relatively large. This is due to the fact that the width of the bracket arm extending parallel to the lamp axis corrresponds approximately to the height of the flat first housing section, which means that the housing overall is about three times higher than this arm, which serves as a mounting rail for securing the light on a camera or the like, is wide.